And I don't mean, like, the general state of the world,

我指的不是全球普遍狀況。

I mean, like, the stuff we buy is just, like a little bit worse than it was 10 years ago.

我的意思是，我們買的商品比十年前要來的差了一點。

And I really started thinking about this because my coworker Izzie wrote about how she had to replace a bra.

我開始認真考慮這個，是因為我同事 Izzie 寫了一篇關於她必須更換胸罩的文。

So I'm gonna do what any normal person would do which is buy the exact same thing from the exact same place.

我做了一般人都會做的事，那就是去同一個地方買一樣的產品。

And then after a few weeks it just kind of...

然後幾星期後，它就...

Just kind of fell apart.

散架了。

So this kind of started me on this journey of, like,

這讓我決定開始著手做這件事。

okay, I'm hearing anecdotally from so many people I talk to in my life.

生活中，我從很多人那裡聽到類似的事。

From coffee machines...

從咖啡機...

phones, computers, sweaters...

電話、電腦，到毛衣。

They all tear or break or explode way sooner than they used to.

它們都很快就破了、碎了，或比預期的更早爆炸。

So what's going on?

到底怎麼了？

And is there a way to climb out from under this pile of consumer trash?

有沒有辦法從這堆消費垃圾中脫身呢？

So let's talk about this in the most basic of terms starting with the design process.

我們從最基本的角度來談談這個問題，從設計過程開始。

When a company wants to make a thing,

當一間公司想生產一件商品時，

let's say, like a jacket,

比方說，一件夾克。

there are three main factors to consider.

有三個主要因素需要考慮。

Functionality: Does it work?

功能性，也就是有用嗎？

Appearance: Does it look good?

外觀，好看嗎？

And manufacturability: Is it easy and fairly inexpensive to make a lot of this product?

還有可製造性，也就是大量製作這種產品簡單，便宜嗎？

Generally, a good product will have a good blend of these three things.

一般來說，好的產品這三方面會很平均。

But in recent years this process has been thrown off balance.

但最近幾年，這個平衡被破壞了。

Let's look at clothes, for example.

我們舉服飾為例。

In the past, if you needed a new jacket, you used to go to a tailor,

在過去，如果想要一件新外套，人們會去找裁縫。

get measured, choose material, and have it made.

在那量尺寸，選料並製作。

Then for decades, instead of going to a tailor for a jacket,

而近幾十年來，我們不再去找裁縫訂做外套，

we went to department stores and bought things that were mass produced.

而是去百貨商店買大規模生產的產品。

By the 80s and 90s we had tons of options and stores to choose from.

在 80、90 年代，我們有大量的商品及商店可選擇。

And now, many of us just kind of go online, click "add to cart" and buy a product without ever seeing it in person.

而現在，很多人只是上網點擊「添加到購物車」購買產品，買之前根本沒親眼看到商品。

But it's not just how we buy, it's how often we buy.

但問題不僅是我們購買的方式，還有購買的頻率。

And for that, we can kind of blame this man.

這點，我們可以怪這個人。

Earnest Elmo, yeah, incredible name.

厄內斯特·埃爾莫，沒錯，了不起的名字。

In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, he wrote this paper that was like,

他在 1930 年代，大蕭條期間寫了篇論文，內容是這樣的：

"Okay, the government should really support this idea of planned obsolescence."

「政府應該支持這種計劃淘汰的想法。」

Except he didn't call it planned obsolescence.

但他沒有稱其為計劃淘汰，

He called it "consumer engineering."

他稱之為「消費者工程」

Remember that jacket you bought?

還記得你買的那件夾克嗎？

Well, it's a new season, and it's out of style.

新一季到了，它已經過時了。

Buttons are out, zippers are in.

鈕釦退流行了，拉鍊才是主流。

So you buy something new,

所以，你買了些新東西，

but not because there was anything physically wrong with the original.

但不是因為原本的壞了。

That's why it's called consumer engineering, right?

這就是為什麼這被稱為消費者工程，是吧？

Like, it's up here in the brain.

一切都跟腦袋裡的想法有關。

And we've been living this way for decades.

而我們已經這樣生活幾十年了。

So now we all want the next best thing, all the time.

所以現在，我們不斷想要更好的東西。

And that demand has spun out of control.

這種需求已經失去控制了。

Today, we are surrounded.

如今，我們被這些東西包圍。

The speed of certain trend cycles and the fact that they're geared towards these micro communities.

某些流行趨勢週期速度之快，而且他們會針對小群體推銷。

Like, Stanley cups, when maybe a year ago was Hydro Flasks.

比如 Stanley 隨身杯，或是一年前流行的 Hydro Flask 保溫杯。

The result is that we buy a lot.

結果是，我們買了很多東西。

A survey done in 2021 found that nearly 40% of UK consumers buy clothing as often as once a month.

2021 年一項調查發現，近 40% 的英國消費者買衣服頻率高達每月一次。

The UN reports that between the years 2000 and 2014, the average person was buying 60% more clothing

聯合國報告稱，2000 年至 2014 年期間，平均每個人買的衣服比以前多 60%

and each item was only kept half as long.

而商品使用時間卻只有以往的一半。

So we want to buy a lot of stuff fast

我們想快速購買大量東西，

and because we replace our stuff so often we don't really want to spend a lot of money on it,

而且因為用的東西經常更換，我們不想花很多錢在上面。

which has an effect too.

這也造成了影響。

People aren't willing to pay more for something they had purchased a while ago.

人們不願意多花錢在不久前買過的東西上。

So, like, if I paid 30 bucks for a bra 10 years ago, it would be really hard for me to buy it at $50.

所以，如果我 10 年前花 30 美元買了一個胸罩，現在就不會想用 50 美元的價格買它。

Even though, in the last 10 years labor costs have risen.

儘管在過去 10 年裡，勞力成本已上升。

So what we're left with is an incredibly fast cycle of demand for low cost products.

因此，我們得到的是一個超快的低成本產品需求週期。

And here's what that looks like.

看起來會像這樣。

In order to speed up manufacturing,

為了加快製造速度，

companies have to either hire more people, alter how the product is made, or both.

公司要麼必須僱用更多人力，要麼改變產品生產方式，或兩者都做。

But they also have to keep prices low enough for consumers to keep buying.

但他們也必須保持價格低廉，消費者才會持續購買。

So they may start swapping materials,

所以他們可能會開始替換材料，

like cotton or silk for a cheaper synthetic material.

像是，把棉花、絲綢換成更便宜的合成材料。

Or rely on a more basic stitching pattern that maybe just doesn't hold as well.

或者用更基本，沒有那麼堅實的縫製方式。

So if after 10 years, you're still paying the same price or close to the same price for a product that looks the same...

所以，如果 10 年後，同一個產品價格還是一樣或差不多...

well, something had to change.

那他們總是得從其他地方省。

So you might say,

你可能會說：

"Okay, Kim, fashion trends are moving too fast and we buy too much stuff. I get it. I get it."

「好啦，時尚潮流過得太快，我們又買太多東西了，知道，知道。」

"But why does my washing machine suck?"

「但為什麼我的洗衣機那麼爛？」

And that's a great question.

這是個好問題。

Let's talk about technology.

我們來談談科技。

When things like computers first became part of our daily lives,

當電腦這樣的東西第一次進入我們日常生活中時，

it made a lot of sense to upgrade devices pretty often.

經常升級設備很合理。

There was actually very big differences in what a device did that's 2 years old versus one that was brand new in the market.

一台使用了 2 年的機器與市場上全新機型的功能實際上差蠻多的。

There was just big leaps.

兩者差距很大。

This is Gay Gordon-Bryne.

這是蓋伊·戈登·布萊恩。

She directs a consumer advocacy group called the Repair Association.

她領導一個消費者權益保護組織，叫「維修協會」。

You know, if you had a 2 year old thing, you probably couldn't do half the cool stuff that the other guy could do.

你知道，如果你有一個用了兩年的東西，一半以上新機的酷功能它可能都做不到。

So that kind of fueled the replacement cycle because you really did get something better in terms of functionality.

這也加速了更換週期，因為你確實能得到功能更好的產品。

For example, when the iPhone was first made it was a major breakthrough.

例如，當 iPhone 首次推出時是個重大突破。

Subsequent phones up to a point responded to major technological leaps.

之後的新機也都有重大技術突破。

Like, look at the difference between the 3GS and the 4.

比如 3GS 和 4 的區別。

The iPhone 4 had a way better resolution and a front facing camera.

iPhone4 的解析度更好，還有前置鏡頭。

For a while, these major leaps between models was the norm for technology.

有段時間，兩代間的重大技術突破是常態。

But we're not making those giant changes as often anymore.

但我們不再像以前那樣經常有重大技術突破了。

Instead, partly to make us want to buy more things companies make very minor adjustments year after year.

相反的，為了讓我們買更多東西，企業年復一年縮小商品調整。

So the dryer you own may now play a fun little song at the end of a cycle instead of screaming.

所以，現在你的烘乾機烘好時放的是一段有趣的音樂，而不是尖銳的響聲。

And now, as devices advanced and got increasing complicated there was another problem for consumers.

如今，隨著設備進步，變得越來越複雜，消費者面臨另一個問題。

All these things started to come into the into the world.

這些市面上的商品

They didn't come in with repair tools.

並沒有付維修工具。

They came in to be thrown away.

它們本來就設計成要整個丟掉。

Basically, when this stuff breaks.

基本上，當東西壞了，

It's often intentionally impossible to repair.

往往是故意設計成無法修理的樣子。

Because if you buy something that has a computer chip in it or a circuit board or whatever,

如果你買的東西有電腦芯片或電路板之類的，

you probably can't make one in your garage.

你大概無法在自己車庫裡做一個。

Um, so you're very reliant on what the manufacturer will agree to sell.

所以你得依賴製造商，看他們同意賣什麼。

And very often they don't agree to sell parts and tools and diagnostics or even give you a diagram.

很多時候，他們不會願意出售零件、工具或診斷方式，甚至是示意圖。

But sometimes it really just isn't possible to fix because they cut corners just like in fashion,

但有時真的無法修復，因為他們偷工減料，就跟時尚界一樣。

replacing metal and screws with plastic and glue.

他們用塑料和膠水代替金屬和螺絲。

And these kind of issues apply across the board in technology,

這類問題廣泛發生於科技產業，

from your phone to toasters to blenders...

從手機、烤麵包機、攪拌機...

to electric wheelchairs to your car.

到電動輪椅，再到汽車。

If you walk around your house or your apartment and you start cataloging how many things you own that have chips in them,

如果你在家中走動，記錄你擁有的東西裡多少裡面有芯片，

I think you'll be really surprised how big that lack of repair problem actually is.

你會被無法維修問題實際上涵蓋範圍有多大嚇到。

I want people to feel hopeful.

我想給大家希望。

Yes, this is something that's out of our control in some ways and not out of our control in others.

沒錯，這某些方面是我們無法控制的，但其他方面並非如此。

I don't want you to feel guilty for partaking in this system where like so many people,

我不想你因為身處這個體系中而感到內疚，很多人都是如此。

we've been kind of brought up culturally to think in this way or to buy in this way.

我們在文化上被教育以這種方式思考和購物。

Compared to other things that suck in the world we actually have a surprising amount of control over this situation.

與世界上其他糟糕的事相比，我們其實對這件事有驚人的控制力。

With tech, fighting for the right to repair is actually extremely effective.

科技方面，爭取維修權其實很有效。

New York State just passed the right to repair bill in 2022 and it's not perfect, but at least it's something.

紐約州剛剛通過了 2022 年維修權法案，它並不完美，但已經是種進步了。

With fashion, stay away from micro trends and fast fashion as often as you can.

對於時尚，盡力遠離微趨勢和快時尚。

Buy with intention and learn to take care of the things you do have.

購物要經過深思，並學會愛惜擁有的單品。

Think of your objects as having maintenance.

將你擁有的商品視為需要仔細維護的物件。

Read those care labels.

閱讀護理標籤。

As consumers, it's going to take a little bit for us to sift through all that trash and retrain our brains a bit.

作為消費者，我們得花點時間篩選這些垃圾，並重新訓練自己的大腦。

But we can take small steps to take back control of the process.

但我們可以慢慢奪回控制權。

After all, all of this stuff is supposed to be made for us.

畢竟，這些商品本來就是為我們製造的。

So let's make it clear what we want.

讓我們清楚表明自己想要什麼。

We have a map on our repair.org website,

我們在 repair.org 上有張地圖。

where you can go find your state, click the picture and it'll bring up a—basically, a letter writing widget.

在那你可以找到你的州，點擊圖片，就會出現一個基本上是寫信的小工具。

Type in your address and it says, "Tell your repair story"

輸入你的地址，上面會出現「說出你的維修故事」

And if you really want to do something that's how it gets done.

如果你真的想做點什麼，這就是方法。

We've had over 100,000 people do that,

已經有超過 10 萬人這樣做了。

over 30,000 of them in New York.

在紐約，有超過 3 萬人。

So, it does not surprise me that New York was the first one to actually pass a law

所以我並不驚訝紐約是第一個通過法律的地方。

because that's where there was a really big groundswell of interest.

因為那邊很多人在乎這件事。